Inversion Tables For Scoliosis – What To Do And How It Will Help

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Adult scoliosis is a disorder of the spine where it curves and can cause pain and difficulty for anyone who suffers from it. Different methods have come about over time to help treat and overcome some of these problems. But inversion therapy and inversion tables are some of the more recent methods that have been used to help treat the condition and it’s something that may just have a totally unique (but realistic) process for helping those who suffer from it. To find out more, read the rest of this inversion table review.

Inversion Therapy for Scoliosis

Inversion therapy consists of simply turning the body upside down to inverting it in some way to remove some of the pressure on the spine. When you do something as simple as standing the gravitational pull of the Earth is putting pressure on your body. We don’t generally feel this pressure, but it can actually be part of the pain that those suffering from scoliosis have.

By inverting the body you can change this pressure because the body is no longer being held to the Earth in the same way as it normally would be. The thought is that when you flip the body you are using gravity to pull the body down in the opposite way, decompressing all of the joints that were being pushed together when upright.

If you’re usually standing up straight and gravity is pulling you down then flipping over means that gravity is essentially pulling you ‘apart’ (but not in a dangerous way, of course). For many people, this type of therapy has actually been able to help with lower back pain. At least, it tends to work in the short term in conjunction with other types of therapy and treatment.

The really nice thing is that there are a number of different ways that you can use inversion therapy for pain relief, improve blood flow, and reduce high blood pressure and spinal decompression, especially on the discs. It’s recommended that you start with a short amount of time and someone nearby in case there is a problem.

If you’ve ever hang upside down from the monkey bars as a child or done headstands and handstands you know that you get a little lightheaded as all the blood rushes down to your head. Those things are types of inversion that you can use for this therapy as well. If you stay that way too long it can increase your high blood pressure (which is the lightheadedness you’ve felt before) and decrease your heartbeat.

Inversion Tables and What They Do

An inversion table is a machine that essentially holds your feet up over your head so that you are hanging upside down. They generally start with you stepping back from a flat board that fits against your back and hooking your feet into the straps that are located at the bottom. Once you’re fully strapped in and secure the table can then be inverted by rocking backward; therefore, putting you upside down and completely secured.

These tables may or may not look at this position and can then help you to stay that way for as long as is considered necessary or safe by your doctor. Inversion therapy isn’t just about the pain treatment, however, though that’s an important part of it. These tables can also help with scoliosis in other ways. One benefit is that they are believed to actually help to improve overall posture.

That’s partly because the blood rushes to the upper part of the body while you are inverted, which can help to reduce spasms in the back. It could also be because the spine is being stretched slightly when inverted, promoting better posture simply on its own. Next, the inversion table holds the patient in a downward position, meaning that you don’t have to be doing anything in particular (like using your hands or head to stabilize yourself).

By using this inverted position to your advantage you can actually strengthen the abdominal muscles as well. This is done by using the hanging position to do sit ups or crunches that will help with strengthening the core muscles. This will not help as much with scoliosis, but it is going to help you feel stronger and may give you a little better posture as well.

Wrapping it Up

Overall, inversion tables have not had enough adequate research to know if they cause any kind of long-term benefits or improvements for those suffering from scoliosis. It is known that they can cause temporary relief or short-term improvements when used alongside other methods of treatment, which means that their effectiveness is actually not well known. Though these tables can be a benefit for some, the posture that they focus much of their benefits on is actually not the cause of scoliosis and, therefore, improvement in the posture (which these tables can provide) doesn’t help to improve scoliosis itself.

If you are suffering from scoliosis and are looking for ways to improve the condition you may want to talk with your doctor about inversion tables but keep in mind that this treatment method hasn’t been confirmed as causing a great deal of improvement. It’s also a relatively new process in that it doesn’t have a lot of research to back up its abilities.

For some, it can be a great option or possible treatment, but you may find that it doesn’t help as much as you may have thought it would. Talking it over can be a great start. Keep in mind also that if you have scoliosis as a result of an infection, cancer, or another disease it could be dangerous to use an inversion table and, therefore, you should speak with a doctor before attempting it on your own, especially for children.

If you have had any kind of rods inserted into the body should definitely avoid it as well as these rods can be greatly compromised by inversion and could cause serious problems. The best thing to do is talk to your doctor about the potential benefits and risks for you personally and then see if it’s something you want to try.